Shepard’s Pie

Nov 13, 2012 by

For those cold winter days when there is a lot on your mind, you deserve a piece of Shepard’s Pie. Nothing will cure what ails your mind or body faster than this savory, hearty beef stew topped with smooth mashed potatoes. If this is what life as a shepard is like, then I spent a few too many years in law school.  This is a casserole to end all casseroles.  Whip up a shepard’s pie on  a cozy evening at home and cherish the warm, peaceful feeling it brings you.

 

Total time: 90 minutes, Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs high quality ground beef
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 cup bold red wine, like beaujolais or bourdeaux
  • 1 1/2 cups beef stock
  • 1 leek, white/light portion only, sliced into half moons
  • 2 celery stalks, sliced into half moons
  • 1 handful baby carrots, chopped
  • 2 cups frozen peas and carrots
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped finely
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp thyme (dried)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 tsp corn starch
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • Mashed potatoes (approx 3 cups)
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
  • 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
1. Prepare your mashed potatoes. I will not impart judgment if you buy pre-made potatoes from the grocery store, but the homemade style is so simple. Boil 6 small white potatoes for 20 minutes. Drain and combine with 1/4 cup cream, 3 tablespoons of butter, plenty of salt, pepper, and a few dashes of beef stock for moisture. Set aside for later.

chopping before boiling reduces cooking time

2. Heat the oil in a large wok or skillet. Season the ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Drain of all grease and set aside.
3. In the same pan, melt the butter and sautee the leeks, onion, garlic, celery, and carrots. Let them sizzle and steam for 10 minutes over medium heat.
4. Add the tomato paste and stir until it turns a dark, brownish hue in the heat.  At this point, add the wine and let it bubble and reduce for 8 minutes. It should reduce by half in this time period. Your whole world will smell heavenly.
5. Add the beef stock, thyme, bay leaves, frozen peas/carrots, and corn starch. Reduce the heat to medium-low and busy yourself with other tasks for 5 minutes. Add the beef back into the skillet and stir to incorporate. Let the ingredients get to know each other for five to ten minutes. I used this time to clean up and do dishes.
6 .When all of the elements are ready and peace has restored itself to the universe, pour the beef stew into a large casserole dish. Remove the bay leaves if you can.
7. Using a spatula, spread the mashed potatoes generously over the top of the casserole.  Try not to faint when you are completing this heavenly task. You may need to pour yourself a glass of that bourdeaux to keep your wits about you.
8. In a separate bowl, mix together the panko breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Top the potatoes with the cheese/crumb mix (shown above).
9. Place in the oven for 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes prior to serving.

The red wine adds a much-needed depth to this soul-comforting stew. Even for a chatterbox like myself, I was silenced by this meal; savoring every bite. The mashed potatoes are the perfect compliment to  the complex flavors of the underlying beef stew. Not to mention the presentation…What’s not to love about the simplicity of this one-pot casserole, teeming with countless  flavors and textures within.

I will be preparing this recipe again and again. I hope that this is a recipe that our family will enjoy for a long time.

Sometimes, our minds become a whirlwind of activity over the smallest things. We lose our sense of what makes us happy versus what makes other people happy. For this problem, I think you need a home-made dinner to center yourself. This is what home cooking is all about.

Lots of love,

Overcooked

I call this picture: “two things that I like”

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Coq au Vin

Feb 15, 2012 by

Three years ago, I cooked dinner for a boy. It was our sixth date.

It was a great sixth date. I prepared a chicken recipe from my favorite cookbook, Molly Stevens’ The Art of Braising. We watched “Lost” on my apartment sofa. He asked me to be his Valentine’s date (I pretended to be cool and acted like I needed to cancel other plans). He also brought me flowers – totally a keeper.

He told me later that he could not forget me after that night because his jacket smelled like braised chicken and red wine. I had won him over.

For three years, that same boy has been asking me to prepare that dish again.

It was my Valentine’s Day gift to him this year to recreate that special memory. Here it is… the dinner that found me true love, Coq au Vin.

 

INGREDIENTS

Adapted from Molly Stevens’ The Art of Braising. Please, please go buy her book.

  • 1 four pound chicken, cut into eight pieces (ask the butcher nicely and he’ll do it for you)
  • 1 diced onion
  • 1 carrot, sliced at an angle
  • 1/4 lb slab bacon, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons of butter
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 750 ml bottle of red Burgundy wine
  • 2 tablespoons cognac (if you have it)
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 3 crushed garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons parsley
  • 1 cup flour
  • salt, pepper, and a pinch of ground thyme

INSTRUCTIONS

This is not a “beginner” recipe. Roll up your sleeves and tie that apron tight. Then preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Use a large stock pot to render the fat of the bacon for approximately 15 minutes. The edges should be crispy, but the middle still soft. Set aside on paper towels, leaving the grease in the pot. Reduce the heat to low while you prepare the chicken.

Using a large bag (I used the one from my butcher), mix the eight chicken pieces, 1 cup of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Shake and coat the chicken very well.

My Version of Shake n Bake

Place one tablespoon of butter in the pot with the bacon grease and increase the heat to high. Place the chicken in the pot in small batches to brown the skin, turning occassionally. When the skin is golden and crispy, remove to a separate plate.

Remove browned chicken to a plate

Add the remaining tablespoon or two of butter to the pot and sautee the onions and carrots until the onions are translucent and flecked with brown (4 or 5 minutes). Keep the heat on high and add 2 tablespoons of cognac to deglaze the pan. Stir in the tomato paste. Simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed into the vegetables or evaporated.

When the cognac and tomato paste has reduced, pour in the bottle of Burgundy wine, garlic, bay leaves, tyme, and parsley. Boil until the mixture has reduced to half. (Not shown – it is hard to take a decent picture of a steamy, boiling pot!) Don’t forget to remove the bay leaf before serving. They taste yucky.

After 10 minutes, or until the wine has reduced to half, add the bacon and stir. Place the chicken pieces in the pot in the following order: drumsticks, wings, thighs, then breasts on top. Place the chicken breasts skin side down – you will turn them back over later. Cover the pot with a lid and place in the oven for 15 minutes.

In 15 minutes, remove the pot from the oven and turn the chicken over – skin side up. Place back in the oven for 45 minutes.

I used this time to whip up a lovely appetizer cheese plate, homemade salad with my favorite vinegarette, and mashed potatoes. The wine pictured below is what I used to cook the chicken.

Appetizer cheese plate

When the chicken is done, remove to a separate platter. In her cookbook, Molly recommends a garnish for the chicken, but I prefer the dish without. Serve the chicken on top of mashed potatoes. Some people also prefer buttered noodles for this dish.

What a successful Valentine’s Day Dinner! The house smelled amazing, and the chicken is a real show-stopper.

The proper prenunciation is "Coq au Vah-n"

I will be cooking this dish for years to come, always remembering the first time I prepared it. What a great way to celebrate the time that he and I have spent together.

Try this recipe and let me know what you think. It is incredible!

Love,

Lindsey

 

 

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Beef Bourguignon (Julia Child’s Version)

Nov 7, 2011 by

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

Do you have a recipe that you’ve always wanted to cook, but have never actually attempted? I used to have one: Julia Child’s “Beef Bourguignon.” After watching the movie “Julie & Julia” years ago, I got it in my mind that boeuf bourguignon (French for “Beef Burgundy”) would be one of the hardest recipes I’d ever cook. I put it off for years, thinking, “Gosh, I’ll never make something this extravagent.” When I cooked it on Saturday night for my best friend Jessica, I realized wow was I wrong! This recipe is not that hard, nor is it an elaborate dish. Julia’s recipe is notorious for being over-complicated for this rustic beef stew. This french recipe is nice on a winter night, and the aromas of beef stock, wine, and onions slow cooking will pleasantly permeate your house or apartment.  Like any great stew, the flavors will only intensify over a several days. That means great leftovers!

If there is a movie made about my blog, please let someone cute play me.

Here’s how I did it. The recipe is adapted from Julia Child’s, The Art of French Cooking.

Ingredients

Prep time: 1 hour, Total Cooking time: 3 hours

  • 6 slices of bacon
  •  1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
  • 1 carrot, sliced
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)
  • 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 cloves mashed garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • A crumbled bay leaf
  • 18 to 24 white onions, small
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons butter
  • Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)
  • 1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut bacon into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a deep, flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

sauteed bacon lardons

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.

Dry beef with paper towls to remove moisture

Brown beef in bacon grease and set aside

In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.

brown the carrots and onions

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes. Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust).Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Season, toss with flour, and bake for a few minutes

Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove.

Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the pearl onions and mushrooms by sauteeing them in butter in a skillet.  (not pictured - I cooked until the onions were translucent and mushrooms were tender.)

When the meat is done, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. (not pictured). Distribute the mushrooms and onions back into the casserole with the beef.

Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.

Serve stew (beef and sauce) on top of mashed potatoes or egg noodles. What a fantastic presentation! I wish you were in my kitchen to smell this!

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

The stew tastes like pot roast, but the sauce has more “depth” from the burgundy wine and seasonings. I can’t wait to have some leftovers later! It is so delicious that you won’t believe you just cooked a recipe that you can’t even pronounce :)

What should my next “to-cook” recipe be? I’m all out!

Lotsa love,

Lindsey

 

 

 

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